As part of ‘Operation Ajay’ launched to rescue Indians from conflict-ridden Israel, a flight carrying 274 Indian nationals arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Sunday. This is the fourth flight since the launch of the special operation. It departed from Israel’s Ben Gurion airport at 11.45 pm local time.
This was the second flight in a day and fourth flight since ‘Operation Ajay’ was launched, to depart from Israel. Before this, a flight with the third batch of 197 Indian nationals left around 5.40 pm local time.
Earlier, EAM S Jaishankar had posted on social media platorm X (formerly Twitter) that fourth flight with 274 Indians onboard departed from Israel for India in the early hours of Sunday. He said that this was the second flight in a day to depart from Israel for India. “#OperationAjay 2nd flight of the day departs from Tel Aviv carrying 274 passengers,” Jaishankar posted on X.
The first group of Indian passengers boarded the flight from Tel Aviv to India as part of Operation Ajay on Thursday.
Indian Ambassador to Israel, Sanjeev Singla, mentioned that the Indian Embassy in Israel is tirelessly working to ensure the well-being of Indian nationals in the conflict-ridden region. Under “Operation Ajay,” the embassy will facilitate the return of Indians wishing to go back to India.
‘Operation Ajay’ was launched by PM Modi in reaction to a series of coordinated attacks on Israel by Hamas from Gaza since last Saturday. In response to these attacks and the ensuing Israeli counteractions, which tragically resulted in over 2,500 casualties, Israel has launched a substantial counteroffensive in Gaza.
This operation aims to repatriate around 18,000 Indian citizens from Israel. The registration process for this had commenced on Thursday.
The Indian embassy in Israel is also extending support to Indian companies and has established a helpline for Indian citizens who require assistance.
Given the escalating conflict, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has set up a 24-hour control room to closely monitor the situation and provide vital information and assistance.